Experts Weigh In on New Yellowstone Eruption Scare

BUTTE, MT - A camera installed just three weeks ago in Yellowstone National Park caught something both mesmerizing and unsettling: a bubbling, steaming eruption from the Black Diamond Pool—the same geothermal feature that exploded last summer, forcing long-term closures in Biscuit Basin.

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While this latest event, filmed on May 31 and released by USGS Volcanoes, consisted mostly of boiling water and steam, its timing, location, and mounting frequency are raising eyebrows—and questions.

Could the most dangerous volcano in North America be preparing for something bigger?

What Really Happened at Yellowstone?

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), this was not a magma-driven volcanic eruption, but a hydrothermal event—a violent discharge of superheated water and steam from beneath the Earth’s crust.

It’s not uncommon for geysers and pools like Black Diamond to vent like this, particularly in Yellowstone, which sits atop one of the most thermally active regions in the world.

But here’s the twist: this is the second known hydrothermal explosion from the same site in less than a year.

And scientists have long warned that such events can sometimes precede more serious geothermal activity.

The July 2024 explosion shut down the entire basin for the season. It’s still closed today...

The Supervolcano Beneath Our Feet

Yellowstone's real beast lies deep underground—a caldera formed by one of the largest volcanic eruptions in Earth’s history.

Stretching nearly 30 miles across, the Yellowstone Supervolcano has erupted three times in the last 2.1 million years.

Geologists estimate that a full-blown eruption today would eject thousands of cubic kilometers of ash and lava, burying surrounding states, devastating ecosystems, and plunging the global climate into temporary chaos.

While that sounds like the stuff of apocalyptic movies, the odds of it happening in any given year are extremely low—about 1 in 730,000, according to the USGS.

Still, not everyone finds those odds comforting.

What Would Happen to Southwest Montana?

If Yellowstone were to erupt on a massive scale, Southwest Montana would be in the crosshairs. Butte, Bozeman, and Helena could face:

• Several feet of ashfall, causing roof collapses and wiping out crops

• Complete disruption of transportation, power, and water systems

• Massive evacuations and long-term health hazards from toxic particles

• An economic collapse, with tourism, agriculture, and trade grinding to a halt

Even a "smaller" eruption, such as a lava flow or moderate ash event, could impact the region significantly.

So, Should We Be Worried?

In short: not yet—but stay aware.

The eruption from Black Diamond Pool is dramatic, but it's not an omen of imminent catastrophe. Yellowstone has erupted hydrothermally many times without triggering a supervolcano event.

Still, the recent footage serves as a stark reminder of the raw power sleeping beneath Wyoming—and how fast that power could change life across the American West.

If there’s one takeaway, it’s this: Yellowstone is alive. And sometimes, it likes to remind us.